PALO ALTO — Three suspects are being sought after they allegedly mugged a man walking on a popular bike path near downtown Palo Alto on Friday night, police said.

The victim, a man in his 20s, was walking south on the Embarcadero Bike Path near Encina Avenue — behind the Town & Country Village shopping center — around 8:15 p.m. when three men approached him.

“One of the suspects knocked the victim to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face,” Palo Alto police said in a news release. “The suspects yelled at the victim to give them his phone and AirPods.”

After forcibly taking the items from the victim, the three men took off north on the path toward downtown Palo Alto, police said.

Someone working at a nearby business heard yelling and found the victim with a bloodied face, and called 911. Palo Alto police officers, with the help of a Mountain View police dog, searched the area but did not find the suspects.

The injured man was taken to a hospital where he was treated for cuts and facial swelling, then released. He described his attackers as three men in their 20s, all about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. Police said suspect sketches were being explored.

Robert Salonga is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering criminal justice and public safety for The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he attended UCLA and has a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. Reach him the low-tech way at 408-920-5002.